Docker troubleshooting for InfluxDB v1 Enterprise

This guide covers common Docker-specific issues and solutions when running InfluxDB v1 Enterprise in containers.

Common Docker issues

License key issues

Problem: Container fails to start with license error

Symptoms:

license key verification failed

Solution:

1. Verify your license key is valid and not expired
2. Ensure the license key environment variable is set correctly:

   -e INFLUXDB_ENTERPRISE_LICENSE_KEY=your-actual-license-key

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3. If nodes cannot reach portal.influxdata.com, use a license file instead:

   -v /path/to/license.json:/etc/influxdb/license.json
   -e INFLUXDB_ENTERPRISE_LICENSE_PATH=/etc/influxdb/license.json

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Network connectivity issues

Problem: Nodes cannot communicate with each other

Symptoms:

• Meta nodes fail to join cluster
• Data nodes cannot connect to meta nodes
• influxd-ctl show shows missing nodes

Solution:

1. Ensure all containers are on the same Docker network:

   docker network create influxdb
   # Add --network=influxdb to all container runs

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2. Use container hostnames consistently:

   # Use hostname (-h) that matches container name
   -h influxdb-meta-0 --name=influxdb-meta-0

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3. Verify network connectivity between containers:

   docker exec influxdb-meta-0 ping influxdb-meta-1

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Problem: Cannot access InfluxDB from host machine

Symptoms:

• Connection refused when trying to connect to InfluxDB API
• Client tools cannot reach the database

Solution: Expose the HTTP API port (8086) when starting data nodes:

docker run -d \
  --name=influxdb-data-0 \
  --network=influxdb \
  -h influxdb-data-0 \
  -p 8086:8086 \
  -e INFLUXDB_ENTERPRISE_LICENSE_KEY=your-license-key \
  influxdb:data

Configuration issues

Problem: Custom configuration not being applied

Symptoms:

• Environment variables ignored
• Configuration file changes not taking effect

Solution:

1. For environment variables, use the correct format INFLUXDB_$SECTION_$NAME:

   # Correct
   -e INFLUXDB_REPORTING_DISABLED=true
   -e INFLUXDB_META_DIR=/custom/meta/dir
   
   # Incorrect
   -e REPORTING_DISABLED=true

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2. For configuration files, ensure proper mounting:

   # Mount config file correctly
   -v /host/path/influxdb.conf:/etc/influxdb/influxdb.conf

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3. Verify file permissions on mounted configuration files:

   # Config files should be readable by influxdb user (uid 1000)
   chown 1000:1000 /host/path/influxdb.conf
   chmod 644 /host/path/influxdb.conf

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Data persistence issues

Problem: Data lost when container restarts

Symptoms:

• Databases and data disappear after container restart
• Cluster state not preserved

Solution: Mount data directories as volumes:

# For meta nodes
-v influxdb-meta-0-data:/var/lib/influxdb

# For data nodes
-v influxdb-data-0-data:/var/lib/influxdb

Resource and performance issues

Problem: Containers running out of memory

Symptoms:

• Containers being killed by Docker
• OOMKilled status in docker ps

Solution:

1. Increase memory limits:

   --memory=4g --memory-swap=8g

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2. Monitor memory usage:

   docker stats influxdb-data-0

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3. Optimize InfluxDB configuration for available resources.

Problem: Poor performance in containerized environment

Solution:

1. Ensure adequate CPU and memory allocation
2. Use appropriate Docker storage drivers
3. Consider host networking for high-throughput scenarios:

   --network=host

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Debugging commands

Check container logs

# View container logs
docker logs influxdb-meta-0
docker logs influxdb-data-0

# Follow logs in real-time
docker logs -f influxdb-meta-0

Verify cluster status

# Check cluster status from any meta node
docker exec influxdb-meta-0 influxd-ctl show

# Check individual node status
docker exec influxdb-meta-0 influxd-ctl show-shards

Network troubleshooting

# Test connectivity between containers
docker exec influxdb-meta-0 ping influxdb-data-0
docker exec influxdb-meta-0 telnet influxdb-data-0 8088

# Check which ports are listening
docker exec influxdb-meta-0 netstat -tlnp

Configuration verification

# Check effective configuration
docker exec influxdb-meta-0 cat /etc/influxdb/influxdb-meta.conf
docker exec influxdb-data-0 cat /etc/influxdb/influxdb.conf

# Verify environment variables
docker exec influxdb-meta-0 env | grep INFLUXDB

Best practices for Docker deployments

1. Use specific image tags instead of latest for production deployments
2. Implement health checks to monitor container status
3. Use Docker Compose for complex multi-container setups
4. Mount volumes for data persistence
5. Set resource limits to prevent resource exhaustion
6. Use secrets management for license keys in production
7. Implement proper logging and monitoring
8. Regular backups of data volumes

Getting additional help

If you continue to experience issues:

1. Check the general troubleshooting guide
2. Review InfluxDB Enterprise logs
3. Contact InfluxData support with:
   • Docker version and configuration
   • Container logs
   • Cluster status output
   • Network configuration details